Chapter 123

*Kaelen*

I didn’t trust the silence this deep into the woods.

It wasn’t the usual stillness—the kind that came with distance from camp, or with dusk setting in. This was heavier. Thicker. Like the air itself was waiting for something. Holding its breath.

Varis walked a few paces ahead, boots crunching against old frost-laced moss. He hadn’t spoken much since we left the ridge that morning. Not abo